Sounds beat Isotopes in 15th inning by score of 8-3

The Nashville Sounds (42-31) defeated the Albuquerque Isotopes (36-36) by a score of 8-3 tonight but it took 15 innings and almost five hours of play to accomplish it. Over 13,000 fans piled into Isotopes Park to watch the Sounds plate five runs in the 15th inning to snatch the extra-inning win from the home team.

Game summary:

Through the first five innings it appeared that the game would end in nine innings easily as Nashville-starter Tim Dillard (7-3, 4.11) was pitching a no-hitter. The Isotopes finally found some life in the 6th inning when Chin-lung Hu broke the no-hitter with an RBI-single to right to make the score 3-1.

Nashville took a commanding 3-0 lead in the 4th inning. Angel Salome hit a one-out solo home run (4) to left to make it 1-0. Adam Heether was then hit by a pitch and Joe Koshansky cranked out his 13th homer [LISTEN] to right after that to make it 3-0 Sounds.

Nursing a Sound’s 3-1 lead after six, the Isotopes crawled back into the game with single runs in the eight and ninth innings to force an extra-inning affair. Nashville was 4-2 in extra-innings before starting the 10th tonight against the Isotopes.

The wheels fell-off for Albuquerque in the 15th inning. Nashville’s Joe Koshansky reached on a lead-off fielding error by center fielder Jason Repko, allowing him to reach second base. Katin’s sac-bunt advanced Koshansky to 3B to set up what would be the eventual winning run. Pollok intentionally walked Gillespie. Pinch hitter Martin Maldonado (called up on June 22nd from Brevard County) then stroked a sacrifice fly to right scoring Koshansky. 4-3 Sounds.

Jason Bourgeois then came to the plate and Gillespie stole (6) 2B. Bourgeois hit an infield single to the pitcher and Gillespie moved to 3B. Escobar followed with an RBI-single and moved Bourgeois to 3B. 5-3 Sounds. Hernan Iribarren then hit a triple (3) to center scoring both Bourgeois and Escobar. 7-3 Sounds. Salome then followed with his fourth hit of the night, a double (14) to center, scoring Iribarren. 8-3 Sounds for the win.

Starter Tim Dillard pitched a quality start, going eight innings, yielding just five hits, two runs (both earned), 3 walks and 4 strike-outs. It would take six Nashville pitchers tonight. Recent call-up – today in fact – John Askford pitched the 13th and 14th innings to earn his first victory for the Sounds. Askford (1-0) pitched 2.0 innings, giving up no hits or runs, and striking out two.

The Isotopes also deployed six pitchers. The loser was Pollok (L, 2-4) who was hammered in the 15th inning by Nashville for five runs.